System and method for providing information of selectable objects in a still image file and/or data stream

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing information of selectable objects in a still image and/or data stream, as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application is related to and claims priority fromprovisional patent application Ser. No. 61/242,234 filed Sep. 14, 2009,and titled “TELEVISION SYSTEM,” the contents of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This patentapplication is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,filed concurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDINGINFORMATION OF SELECTABLE OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, AttorneyDocket No. 21042US02; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDINGINFORMATION OF SELECTABLE OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM IN ANINFORMATION STREAM INDEPENDENT OF THE TELEVISION PROGRAM”, AttorneyDocket No. 21043US02. This patent application is further related to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/774,380, filed May 5, 2010, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTION OFOBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21037US02; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/850,832, filed Aug. 5, 2010, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTIONOF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21038US02; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/850,866, filed Aug. 5, 2010, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION RECEIVER FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTIONOF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21039US02; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/850,911, filed Aug. 5, 2010, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21040US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/850,945, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21041US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/851,036, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21051US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/851,075, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A PARALLEL TELEVISION SYSTEM FORPROVIDING USER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, AttorneyDocket No. 21052US02. The contents of each of the above-mentionedapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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SEQUENCE LISTING

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MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present media systems are incapable of providing for and/or convenientlyproviding for user-selection of objects in a still image (e.g., aphotograph). Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional andtraditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such systems with the present invention as setforth in the remainder of the present application with reference to thedrawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present invention provide a system and method forproviding information of selectable objects in a still image and/or datastream, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with atleast one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of illustrative aspects thereof, will bemore fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary media system, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for providingembedded information of selectable objects in a still image, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for providingembedded information of selectable objects in a still image, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for providinginformation of selectable objects in a still image in an informationstream independent of the still image, in accordance with variousaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary media system, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating exemplary modules and/or sub-modulesfor a media system, in accordance with various aspects of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION

The following discussion will refer to various communication modules,components or circuits. Such modules, components or circuits maygenerally comprise hardware and/or a combination of hardware andsoftware (e.g., including firmware). Such modules may also, for example,comprise a computer readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory medium)comprising instructions (e.g., software instructions) that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform variousfunctional aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of particular hardware and/or software implementationsof a module, component or circuit unless explicitly claimed as such. Forexample and without limitation, various aspects of the present inventionmay be implemented by one or more processors (e.g., a microprocessor,digital signal processor, baseband processor, microcontroller, etc.)executing software instructions (e.g., stored in volatile and/ornon-volatile memory). Also for example, various aspects of the presentinvention may be implemented by an application-specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”) and/or other hardware components.

Additionally, the following discussion will refer to various mediasystem modules (e.g., image presentation system modules, personalelectronic device modules, computer system modules, camera modules,television modules, television receiver modules, television controllermodules, modules of a user's local media system, modules of ageographically distributed media system, etc.). It should be noted thatthe following discussion of such various modules is segmented into suchmodules for the sake of illustrative clarity. However, in actualimplementation, the boundaries between various modules may be blurred.For example, any or all of the functional modules discussed herein mayshare various hardware and/or software components. For example, any orall of the functional modules discussed herein may be implemented whollyor in-part by a shared processor executing software instructions.Additionally, various software sub-modules that may be executed by oneor more processors may be shared between various software modules.Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the present inventionshould not be limited by arbitrary boundaries between various hardwareand/or software components, unless explicitly claimed.

The following discussion may also refer to communication networks andvarious aspects thereof. For the following discussion, a communicationnetwork is generally the communication infrastructure through which acommunication device (e.g., a portable communication device, personalcomputer device, media presentation system, image presentation system,camera, media server, image server, television, television controldevice, television provider, television programming provider, televisionreceiver, video and/or image recording device, etc.) may communicatewith other systems. For example and without limitation, a communicationnetwork may comprise a cable and/or satellite television communicationnetwork, a cellular communication network, a wireless metropolitan areanetwork (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wirelesspersonal area network (WPAN), a general data communication network(e.g., the Internet), any home or premises communication network, etc. Aparticular communication network may, for example, generally have acorresponding communication protocol according to which a communicationdevice may communicate with the communication network. Unless soclaimed, the scope of various aspects of the present invention shouldnot be limited by characteristics of a particular type of communicationnetwork.

The following discussion may at times refer to an on-screen pointinglocation. Such a pointing location refers to a location on a videoscreen (e.g., a computer display, a display of a portable electronicdevice, a display of a digital photograph display, a television display,a primary television screen, a secondary television screen, etc.) towhich a user (either directly or with a pointing device) is pointing.Such a pointing location is to be distinguished from other types ofon-screen location identification, such as, for example, using arrowkeys and/or a mouse to move a cursor or to traverse blocks (e.g., on anon-screen program guide) without pointing. Various aspects of thepresent invention, while referring to on-screen pointing location, arealso readily extensible to such other forms of on-screen locationidentification.

Additionally, the following discussion will at times refer to televisionprogramming. Such television programming may, for example, communicatestill images. Such television programming generally includes varioustypes of television programming (e.g., television programs, newsprograms, sports programs, music television, movies, television seriesprograms and/or associated advertisements, educational programs, live orrecorded television programming, broadcast/multicast/unicast televisionprogramming, etc.). Such television programming may, for example,comprise real-time television broadcast programming (or multicast orunicast television programming) and/or user-stored televisionprogramming that is stored in a user device (e.g., a VCR, PVR, etc.).Such television programming video content is to be distinguished fromother non-programming video content that may be displayed on atelevision screen (e.g., an electronic program guide, user interfacemenu, a television set-up menu, a typical web page, a graphical videogame, etc.).

The following discussion will at times refer to still images. Such stillimages may, for example, comprise pictures. For example, such stillimages may correspond to still photographs (e.g., taken with a digitalcamera), scanned images created by a scanner, facsimile images, etc.Such still images may, for example, be represented in a data file (e.g.,a JPEG file, a bitmap, a TIFF file, etc.), or other data structure, andmay be communicated in one or more streams of data.

Also, the following discussion will at times refer to user-selectableobjects in a still image. Such user-selectable objects includes bothanimate (i.e., living) and inanimate (i.e., non-living) objects. Suchobjects may, for example, comprise characteristics of any of a varietyof objects present in still images. Such objects may, for example andwithout limitation, comprise inanimate objects, such as consumer goodobjects (e.g., clothing, automobiles, shoes, jewelry, furniture, food,beverages, appliances, electronics, toys, artwork, cosmetics,recreational vehicles, sports equipment, safety equipment, computerequipment, communication devices, books, etc.), premises objects (e.g.,business locations, stores, hotels, signs, doors, buildings, landmarks,historical sites, entertainment venues, hospitals, government buildings,etc.), objects related to services (e.g., objects related totransportation, objects related to emergency services, objects relatedto general government services, objects related to entertainmentservices, objects related to food and/or drink services, etc.), objectsrelated to location (e.g., parks, landmarks, streets, signs, road signs,etc.), etc. Such objects may, for example, comprise animate objects,such as people (e.g., actors/actresses, athletes, musicians,salespeople, commentators, reports, analysts, hosts/hostesses,entertainers, etc.), animals (e.g., pets, zoo animals, wild animals,etc.) and plants (e.g., flowers, trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables,cacti, etc.).

Turning first to FIG. 1, such figure is a diagram illustrating anon-limiting exemplary media system 100 in accordance with variousaspects of the present invention. The exemplary system 100 includes amedia information provider 110. The media information provider 110 may,for example, comprise a server associated with a media company, a cablecompany, an image-providing company, movie-providing company, a newscompany, an educational institution, etc. The media information provider110 may, for example, be an original source of still images (or relatedinformation). Also for example, the media information provider 110 maybe a communication company that provides still image distributionservices (e.g., a cable media company, a satellite media company, atelecommunication company, a data network provider, etc.). The mediainformation provider 110 may, for example, provide both media (e.g.,still image) information and non-media information. The mediainformation provider 110 may, for example, provide information of bothmoving picture information and still picture information.

The media information provider 110 may, for example, provide informationrelated to a still image (e.g., information describing or otherwiserelated to user-selectable objects in still images, etc.). As will bediscussed below in more detail, the media information provider 110 mayoperate to create and/or communicate a still image (e.g., a still imagedata set, still image data stream, etc.) that includes embeddedinformation of user-selectable objects in the still image. For exampleand without limitation, such a media information provider 110 mayoperate to receive a completed initial still image data set (e.g., adata file or other bounded data structure, a data stream, etc.), forexample via a communication network and/or on a physical media, andembed information of user-selectable objects in the completed initialstill image data set. Also for example, such a media informationprovider 110 may operate to form an original still image data set (e.g.,a data file or other bounded data structure, etc.) and embed informationof user-selectable objects in the original still image data set duringsuch formation (e.g., in the studio, on an enterprise computing system,on a personal computer, etc.).

Note that the media information provider 110 may be remote from a user'slocal image presentation system (e.g., located at a premises differentfrom the user's premises) or may be local to the user's local imagepresentation system (e.g., a personal media player, a digital photopresentation system, a DVR, a personal computing device, a personalelectronic device, a personal cellular telephone, a personal digitalassistant, a camera, a moving picture camera, an image recorder, a dataserver, an image and/or television receiver, a television, etc.).

The media information provider 110 may alternatively, for example,operate to form and/or communicate a user-selectable object data setthat includes information of user-selectable objects in a still image.Such a user-selectable object data set for a still image may, forexample, be independent of a data set that generally represents thestill image (e.g., generally represents the still image withoutinformation of user-selectable objects in such still image). For exampleand without limitation, such a media information provider 110 mayoperate to receive a completed still image data set (e.g., a data fileor other finite group of data, a data stream, etc.), for example via acommunication network and/or on a physical medium, and form theuser-selectable object data set independent of the completed still imagedata set. Also for example, such a media information provider 110 mayoperate to form both an original still image data set and form thecorresponding user-selectable object data set.

The exemplary media system 100 may also include a third party imageinformation provider 120. Such a provider may, for example, provideinformation related to a still image. Such information may, for example,comprise information describing user-selectable objects in still images,media guide information, etc. As will be discussed below in more detail,such a third party image information provider (e.g., a party that may beindependent of a still image source, media network operator, etc.) mayoperate to create a still image (or still image data set, still imagedata stream, etc.) that includes embedded information of user-selectableobjects in the still image. For example and without limitation, such athird party image information provider 120 may operate to receive aninitial completed still image data set (e.g., a data file or otherbounded data structure, a data stream, etc.), for example via acommunication network and/or on a physical media, and embed informationof user-selectable objects in the initial completed still image dataset.

The exemplary media system 100 may include one or more communicationnetworks (e.g., the communication network(s) 130). The exemplarycommunication network 130 may comprise characteristics of any of avariety of types of communication networks over which still image and/orinformation related to still images (e.g., information related touser-selectable objects in still images) may be communicated. Forexample and without limitation, the communication network 130 maycomprise characteristics of any one or more of: a cable televisionnetwork, a satellite television network, a telecommunication network,the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN),a metropolitan area network (MAN), any of a variety of different typesof home networks, etc.

The exemplary media system 100 may include a first media presentationdevice 140. Such a first media presentation device 140 may, for example,comprise networking capability enabling such media presentation device140 to communicate directly with the communication network(s) 130. Forexample, the first media presentation device 140 may comprise one ormore embedded media receivers or transceivers (e.g., a cable televisiontransceiver, satellite television transceiver, Internet modem, wiredand/or wireless LAN transceiver, wireless PAN transceiver, etc.). Alsofor example, the first media presentation device 140 may comprise one ormore recording devices (e.g., for recording and/or playing back mediacontent, still images, etc.). The first media presentation device 140may, for example, operate to (which includes “operate when enabled to”)perform any or all of the functionality discussed herein. The firstmedia presentation device 140 may, for example, operate to receive andprocess still image information (e.g., via a communication network,stored on a physical medium or computer readable medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer readable medium), etc.), where such still imageinformation comprises embedded information of user-selectable objects.The first media presentation device 140 may also, for example, operateto receive and process information of a still image and information ofuser-selectable objects in the still image, where such user-selectableobject information and such image information are communicatedindependently (e.g., received in independent data files, received inindependent data streams, etc.).

The exemplary media system 100 may include a first media controller 160.Such a first media controller 160 may, for example, operate to (e.g.,which may include “operate when enabled to”) control operation of thefirst media presentation device 140. The first media controller 160 maycomprise characteristics of any of a variety of media presentationcontrolling devices. For example and without limitation, the first mediacontroller 160 may comprise characteristics of a dedicated media centercontrol device, a dedicated image presentation device controller, adedicated television controller, a universal remote control, a cellulartelephone or personal computing device with media presentation controlcapability, etc.

The first media controller 160 may, for example, transmit signalsdirectly to the first media presentation device 140 to control operationof the first media presentation device 140. The first media controller160 may also, for example, operate to transmit signals (e.g., via thecommunication network(s) 130) to the media information provider 110and/or the third party image information provider 120 to control imageinformation (or information related to an image) being provided to thefirst media presentation device 140 or other device with imagepresentation capability, or to conduct other transactions (e.g.,business transactions, etc.).

As will be discussed in more detail later, the first media controller160 may operate to communicate screen (or display) pointing informationwith the first media presentation device 140 and/or other devices. Also,as will be discussed in more detail later, various aspects of thepresent invention include a user pointing to a location on a display(e.g., pointing to an animate or inanimate user-selectable objectpresented in an image on the display). In such a scenario, the user mayperform such pointing in any of a variety of manners. One of suchexemplary manners includes pointing with a user device. The first mediacontroller 160 provides a non-limiting example of a device that a usermay utilize to point to an on-screen location.

Additionally, for example in a scenario in which the first mediacontroller 160 comprises an on-board display, the first media controller160 may operate to receive and process still image information (e.g.,via a communication network, stored on a physical medium or computerreadable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium),etc.), where such still image information comprises embedded informationof user-selectable objects. As another example, in such a scenario, thefirst media controller 160 may operate to receive and process stillimage information and information of user-selectable objects in thestill image (e.g., via one or more communication networks, stored on oneor more physical media or computer readable media (e.g., anon-transitory computer readable media), etc.), where such still imageinformation and user-selectable object information are communicatedindependently.

As will be mentioned throughout the following discussion, variousaspects of the invention will be performed by one or more devices,components and/or modules of a user's local media presentation system.The first media presentation device 140 and first media controller 160provide a non-limiting example of a user's local media presentationsystem. Such a user's local media presentation system, for example,generally refers to the media-related devices that are local to themedia presentation system currently being utilized by the user. Forexample, when a user is utilizing a media presentation system located atthe user's home, the user's local media presentation system generallyrefers to the media-related devices that make up the user's home mediapresentation system. Also for example, when a user is utilizing a mediapresentation system at a premises away from the user's home (e.g., atanother home, at a hotel, at an office, etc.), the user's local mediapresentation system generally refers to the media-related devices thatmake up the premises media presentation system Such a user's local mediapresentation system does not, for example, comprise media networkinfrastructure devices that are generally outside of the user's currentpremises (e.g., Internet nodes, cable and/or satellite head-endapparatus, cable and/or satellite communication intermediatecommunication network nodes) and/or media source devices that aregenerally managed by media enterprises and generally exist outside ofthe user's premises. Such entities, which may be communicatively coupledto the user's local media presentation system, may be considered to beentities remote from the user's local media presentation system (or“remote entities”).

The exemplary media system 100 may also include a media (e.g., stillimage) receiver 151. The media receiver 151 may, for example, operate to(e.g., which may include “operate when enabled to”) provide acommunication link between a media presentation device and/or mediacontroller and a communication network and/or information provider. Forexample, the media receiver 151 may operate to provide a communicationlink between the second media presentation device 141 and thecommunication network(s) 130, or between the second media presentationdevice 141 and the media information provider 110 (and/or third partyimage information provider 120) via the communication network(s) 130.

The media receiver 151 may comprise characteristics of any of a varietyof types of media receivers. For example and without limitation, themedia receiver 151 may comprise characteristics of a cable televisionreceiver, a satellite television receiver, a still image receiver, apersonal computer, a still picture (or still image) camera, a movingpicture camera, etc. Also for example, the media receiver 151 maycomprise a data communication network modem for data networkcommunications (e.g., with the Internet, a LAN, PAN, MAN,telecommunication network, etc.). The media receiver 151 may also, forexample, comprise recording capability (e.g., still image recording andplayback, etc.).

Additionally, for example in a scenario in which the media receiver 151comprises an on-board display and/or provides still image information toa display (or media presentation device) communicatively coupledthereto, the media receiver 151 may operate to receive and process stillimage information (e.g., via a communication network, stored on aphysical medium or computer readable medium (e.g., a non-transitorycomputer readable medium), etc.), where such still image informationcomprises embedded information of user-selectable objects. As anotherexample, in such a scenario, the media receiver 151 may operate toreceive and process still image information and information ofuser-selectable objects in the still image (e.g., via one or morecommunication networks, stored on one or more physical media or computerreadable media (e.g., non-transitory computer readable media), etc.),where such still image information and user-selectable objectinformation are communicated independently.

The exemplary media system 100 may include a second media controller161. Such a second media controller 161 may, for example, operate to(e.g., which may include “operate when enabled to”) control operation ofthe second media presentation device 141 and the media receiver 151. Thesecond media controller 161 may comprise characteristics of any of avariety of media presentation controlling devices. For example andwithout limitation, the second media controller 161 may comprisecharacteristics of a dedicated media center control device, a dedicatedimage presentation device controller, a dedicated television controller,a universal remote control, a cellular telephone or personal computingdevice with media presentation control capability, etc.

The second media controller 161 may, for example, operate to transmitsignals directly to the second media presentation device 141 to controloperation of the second media presentation device 141. The second mediacontroller 161 may, for example, operate to transmit signals directly tothe media receiver 151 to control operation of the media receiver 151.The second media controller 161 may additionally, for example, operateto transmit signals (e.g., via the media receiver 151 and thecommunication network(s) 130) to the media information provider and/orthe third party image information provider 120 to control imageinformation (or information related to an image) being provided to themedia receiver 151, or to conduct other transactions (e.g., businesstransactions, etc.).

As will be discussed in more detail later, various aspects of thepresent invention include a user selecting a user-selectable object inan image. Such selection may, for example, comprise the user pointing toa location on a display (e.g., pointing to an animate or inanimateobject presented in an image on the display). In such a scenario, theuser may perform such pointing in any of a variety of manners. One ofsuch exemplary manners includes pointing with a user device. The secondmedia controller 161 provides one non-limiting example of a device thata user may utilize to point to an on-screen location. Also, in ascenario in which the second media controller 161 comprises a touchscreen, a user may touch a location of such touch screen to point to anon-screen location (e.g., to select a user-selectable object presentedin an image presented on the touch screen).

As will be mentioned throughout the following discussion, and asmentioned previously in the discussion of the first media presentationsystem 140 and first media controller 160, various aspects of theinvention will be performed by one or more devices, components and/ormodules of a user's local media system. The second media presentationdevice 141, media receiver 151 and second media controller 161 provideanother non-limiting example of a user's local media system.

Additionally, for example in a scenario in which the second mediacontroller 161 comprises an on-board display, the second mediacontroller 161 may operate to receive and process still imageinformation (e.g., via a communication network, stored on a physicalmedium or computer readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computerreadable medium), etc.), where such still image information comprisesembedded information of user-selectable objects. As another example, insuch a scenario, the second media controller 161 may operate to receiveand process still image information and information of user-selectableobjects in the still image (e.g., via one or more communicationnetworks, stored on one or more physical media or computer readablemedia (e.g., non-transitory computer readable media), etc.), where suchstill image information and user-selectable object information arecommunicated independently.

The exemplary media system 100 was provided to provide a non-limitingillustrative foundation for discussion of various aspects of the presentinvention. Thus, the scope of various aspects of the present inventionshould not be limited by any characteristics of the exemplary mediasystem 100 unless explicitly claimed.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 200 forproviding embedded information of selectable objects in a still image,for example a still image data set (e.g., a data file or other boundeddata structure, a data stream, etc.), in accordance with various aspectsof the present invention. Any or all aspects of the exemplary method 200may, for example, be implemented in a media system component (e.g., themedia information provider 110, third party image information provider120, a component of a communication network 130, first mediapresentation device 140, first media controller 160, second mediapresentation device 141, media receiver 151, second media controller161, shown in FIG. 1 and discussed previously) and/or a plurality ofsuch media system components operating in conjunction. For example, anyor all aspects of the exemplary method 200 may be implemented in one ormore media system components remote from the user's local media system.Also for example, any or all aspects of the exemplary method 200 may beimplemented in one or more components of the user's local media system.

The exemplary method 200 may, for example, begin executing at step 205.The exemplary method 200 may begin executing in response to any of avariety of causes and/or conditions, non-limiting examples of which willnow be provided. For example, the exemplary method 200 may beginexecuting in response to a user command to begin (e.g., a user at amedia source, a user at a media production studio, a user at a mediadistribution enterprise, etc.), in response to still image informationand/or information of user-selectable objects in a still image arrivingat a system entity implementing the method 200, in response to anelectronic request communicated from the external entity to a systementity implementing the method 200, in response to a timer, in responseto a request from an end user and/or a component of a user's local mediasystem for a still image including information of user-selectableobjects, in response to a request from a user for a still image wheresuch user is associated in a database with still images comprisinguser-selectable objects, upon reset and/or power-up of a systemcomponent implementing the exemplary method 200, in response toidentification of a user and/or user equipment for which objectselection capability is to be provided, in response to user payment of afee, etc.

The exemplary method 200 may, for example at step 210, comprisereceiving image information (e.g., picture information) for a stillimage. Various examples of such still images were provided above. Notethat, depending on the particular implementation, such still imageinformation may, for example, be received with or without informationdescribing user-selectable objects in such a still image.

Step 210 may comprise receiving the still image information from any ofa variety of sources, non-limiting examples of which will now beprovided. For example and without limitation, step 210 may comprisereceiving the still image information from a still image broadcastingcompany, from a data streaming company, from a still image studio, froma still image database or server, from a camera or other still imagerecording device, from a scanner, from a facsimile machine, from anInternet still image provider, etc.

Step 210 may comprise receiving the still image information via any of avariety of types of communication networks, non-limiting examples ofwhich were provided above. Such networks may, for example, comprise anyof variety of general data communication networks (e.g., the Internet, alocal area network, a personal area network, a metropolitan areanetwork, etc.). Such networks may, for example, comprise a wirelesstelevision network (e.g., terrestrial and/or satellite) and/or cabletelevision network. Such networks may, for example, comprise a localwired network, point-to-point communication link between two devices,etc.

Step 210 may comprise receiving the still image information from any ofa variety of types of hard media (e.g., optical storage media, magneticstorage media, etc.). Such hard media may, for example, comprisecharacteristics of optical storage media (e.g., compact disc, digitalversatile disc, Blueray®, laser disc, etc.), magnetic storage media(e.g., hard disc, diskette, magnetic tape, etc.), computer memory device(e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium, flash memory,one-time-programmable memory, read-only memory, random access memory,thumb drive, etc.). Such memory may, for example, be a temporary and/orpermanent component of the system entity implementing the method 200.For example, in a scenario including the utilization of such hard media,step 210 may comprise receiving the still image information from such adevice and/or from a reader of such a device (e.g., directly via anend-to-end conductor or via a communication network).

In an exemplary scenario, step 210 may comprise receiving a completedstill image data set (e.g., a complete picture data set) for a stillimage, the completed still image data set formatted for communicatingthe still image without information describing user-selectable objectsin the still image. For example, the received completed still image dataset may be in conformance with a still image standard (e.g., JPEG, TIFF,GIF, bmp, etc.). For example, such a data set may be a data file (or setof logically linked data files) formatted in a JPEG or pdf format fornormal presentation on a user's local image presentation system. Such adata set of a still image, when received at step 210, might not haveinformation of user-selectable objects in the still image. Suchinformation of user-selectable objects may then, for example, be added,as will be explained below.

In another exemplary scenario, step 210 may comprise receiving stillimage information (e.g., picture information) for the still image priorto the still image information being formatted into a completed stillimage data set for communicating the still image. In an exemplaryimplementation, step 210 may comprise receiving still image information(e.g., a bitmap, partially encoded still image information, etc.) thatwill be formatted in accordance with a still image standard, but whichhas not yet been so formatted. Such a data set of a still image, whenreceived at step 210, might not have information of user-selectableobjects in the still image. Such information of user-selectable objectsmay then, for example, be added, as will be explained below.

In yet another exemplary scenario, step 210 may comprise receiving acompleted still image data set (e.g., a complete picture data set) forthe still image, the completed still image data set formatted forcommunicating the still image with information describinguser-selectable objects in the still image. For example, the receivedcompleted still image data set may be in conformance with a still imagestandard (e.g., JPEG, TIFF, GIF, etc.), or a variant thereof, thatspecifically accommodates information of user-selectable objects in thestill image. Also for example, the received completed still image (orpicture) data set may be in conformance with a still image standard(e.g., JPEG et al., TIFF, GIF, JBIG et al., PNG, AGP, AI, ANI, PNG, BMP,DNG, DCS, DCR, ECW, EMF, ICO, PDF, etc.), or a variant thereof, thatwhile not specifically accommodating information of user-selectableobjects in the still image, allows for the incorporation of suchinformation in unassigned data fields. For example, such a data set maybe a data file (or set of logically linked data files) formatted in aJPEG format for normal presentation on a user's local image presentationsystem. Such a data set of a still image, when received at step 210,might comprise information of user-selectable objects in the stillimage. Such information of user-selectable objects may then, forexample, be deleted, modified and/or appended, as will be explainedbelow.

Step 210 may, for example, comprise receiving the still imageinformation in digital and/or analog signals. Though the examplesprovided above generally concerned the receipt of digital data, suchexamples are readily extendible to the receipt of analog still imageinformation.

In general, step 210 may comprise receiving still image information fora still image. Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the presentinvention should not be limited by characteristics of any particulartype of still image information or by any particular manner of receivingstill image information unless explicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 220, comprise receiving objectinformation corresponding to a user-selectable object in the stillimage. Many non-limiting examples of receiving such object informationwill now be provided.

Step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectable object informationfrom any of a variety of sources, non-limiting examples of which willnow be provided. For example and without limitation, step 220 maycomprise receiving the user-selectable object information from a media(or image) broadcasting company, from a media (or image) streamingcompany, from a media (or image) studio, from a still image database orserver, from an advertising company, from a commercial enterpriseassociated with a user-selectable object in a still image, from a personor organization associated with a user-selectable object in a stillimage, from an Internet still image provider, from a third party stillimage information source, from an end user's process executing on an enduser's personal computer, etc.

Step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectable object informationfrom a plurality of independent sources. For example, in an exemplaryscenario in which a still image includes user-selectable objectscorresponding to a plurality of respective interested parties (e.g.,respective product sponsors, respective leagues or other associations,respective people, etc.), step 220 may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information from each of such respectiveinterested parties. For example, step 220 may comprise receivinguser-selectable object information corresponding to a user-selectableconsumer good in a still image from a provider of such consumer good,receiving user-selectable object information corresponding to anentertainer in the still image from the entertainer's managementcompany, receiving user-selectable object information corresponding to auser-selectable historical landmark in the still image from a societyassociated with the historical landmark, receiving user-selectableobject information corresponding to a user-selectable object in thestill image associated with a service from a provider of such service,etc. In such a multiple-source scenario, step 220 may compriseaggregating the user-selectable object information received from theplurality of sources (e.g., into a single user-selectable object dataset) for ultimate combination of such user-selectable object informationwith received still image information.

Step 220 may, for example, comprise receiving the user-selectable objectinformation from a same source as that from which the still imageinformation was received at step 210 or may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information from a different source. For exampleand without limitation, step 220 may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information from an advertising company, whilestep 210 comprises receiving the still image information from a stillimage studio. In another example, step 220 may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information from a commercial enterpriseassociated with a consumer good object presented in the still image,while step 210 comprises receiving the still image information from animage server of a sports network.

In yet another example, step 220 may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information directly from a computer process thatgenerates such information. For example, an operator may display a stillimage on an operator station and utilize graphical tools (e.g., boxes orother polygons, edge detection routines, etc.) to define auser-selectable object in the still image. Such a computer process maythen output information describing the object in the still image. Step220 may comprise receiving the information output from such process.

Step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectable object informationvia any of a variety of types of communication networks, many examplesof such networks were provided previously. Such networks may, forexample, comprise any of variety of general data communication networks(e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a personal area network, ametropolitan area network, etc.). Such networks may, for example,comprise a media network (e.g., terrestrial and/or satellite medianetwork).

Step 220 may, for example, comprise receiving the user-selectable objectinformation via a same communication network as that via which the stillimage information was received at step 210 or may comprise receiving theuser-selectable object information from a different communicationnetwork. For example and without limitation, step 220 may comprisereceiving the user-selectable object information via a general datacommunication network (e.g., the Internet), while step 210 comprisesreceiving the still image information via a television network. Inanother example, step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectableobject information via a general data network, while step 210 comprisesreceiving the still image information from a computer readable medium(e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium).

Step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectable object informationfrom any of a variety of types of hard media (e.g., optical storagemedia, magnetic storage media, etc.). Such hard media may, for example,comprise characteristics of optical storage media (e.g., compact disc,digital versatile disc, Blueray®, laser disc, etc.), magnetic storagemedia (e.g., hard disc, diskette, magnetic tape, etc.), computer memorydevice (e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium, flash memory,one-time-programmable memory, read-only memory, random access memory,thumb drive, etc.). Such memory may, for example, be a temporary and/orpermanent component of the system entity implementing the method 200.For example, in a scenario including the utilization of such hard media,step 220 may comprise receiving the user-selectable object informationfrom such a device and/or from a reader of such a device (e.g., directlyvia an end-to-end conductor or via a communication network).

The object information corresponding to one or more user-selectableobjects that is received at step 220 may comprise any of a variety ofcharacteristics, non-limiting examples of which will now be provided.

For example, such user-selectable object information may compriseinformation describing and/or defining the user-selectable object thatis shown in the still image. Such information may, for example, beprocessed by a recipient of such information to identify an object thatis being selected by a user. Such information may, for example, compriseinformation describing boundaries associated with a user-selectableobject in the still image (e.g., actual object boundaries (e.g., anobject outline), areas generally coinciding with a user-selectableobject (e.g., a description of one or more geometric shapes thatgenerally correspond to a user-selectable object), selection areas thatwhen selected indicate user-selection of a user-selectable object (e.g.,a superset and/or subset of a user-selectable object in the stillimage), etc. Such information may, for example, describe and/or definethe user-selectable in a still image coordinate system.

Many examples of such object description information are provided in avariety of related U.S. Patent Applications. For example, as mentionedpreviously, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/774,380, filed May 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21037US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/850,832, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21038US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/850,866, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION RECEIVER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21039US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/850,911, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21040US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/850,945, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21041US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/851,036, filed Aug. 5,2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21051US02; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/851,075, filed Aug.5, 2010, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A PARALLEL TELEVISION SYSTEM FORPROVIDING USER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, AttorneyDocket No. 21052US02, which are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entirety, provide many examples of information describing (orotherwise related to) user-selectable objects in television programming,which may also, for example, apply herein to user-selectable objects instill images.

Also for example, such user-selectable object information may compriseinformation describing the object, where such information may bepresented to the user upon user-selection of a user selectable object.For example, such object information may comprise information describingphysical characteristics of a user-selectable object, backgroundinformation, historical information, general information of interest,location information, financial information, travel information,commerce information, personal information, etc.

Additionally for example, such user-selectable object information maycomprise information describing and/or defining actions that may betaken upon user-selection of a user-selectable object, non-limitingexamples of such actions and/or related information corresponding to arespective user-selectable object will now be presented.

For example, such user-selectable object information may compriseinformation describing a one or more manners of determining informationto present to the user (e.g., retrieving such information from a knownlocation, conducting a search for such information, etc.), establishinga communication session by which a user may interact with networkedentities associated with a user-selected object, interacting with a userregarding display of a user-selected object and/or associatedinformation, etc.

For example, such user-selectable object information may compriseinformation describing one or more manners of obtaining one or more setsof information, where such information may then, for example, bepresented to the user. For example, such information may comprise amemory address (or data storage address) and/or a communication networkaddress (e.g., an address of a networked data server, a URL, etc.),where such address may correspond to a location at which informationcorresponding to the identified object may be obtained. Such informationmay, for example, comprise a network address of a component with which acommunication session may be initiated and/or conducted (e.g., to obtaininformation regarding the user-selected object, to interact with theuser regarding the selected object, etc.).

In an exemplary scenario in which the user-selectable object informationcomprises information to present to a user upon user-selection of aselectable object in a still image, such information may comprise any ofa variety of different types of information related to the user-selectedobject. For example and without limitation, such information maycomprise information describing the user-selectable object (e.g.,information describing aspects of the object, history of the object,design of the object, source of the object, price of the object,critiques of the object, information provided by commercial enterprisesproducing and/or providing such object, etc.), information indicating tothe user how the user may obtain the selected object, informationindicating how the user may utilize the selected object, etc. Theinformation may, for example, comprise information of one or morenon-commercial organizations associated with, and/or having informationpertaining to, the identified user-selected object (e.g., non-profitand/or government organization contact information, web site addressinformation, etc.).

In another exemplary scenario, the information corresponding to auser-selectable object in the still image may comprise informationrelated to conducting a search for information corresponding to theuser-selectable object. Such information may, for example, comprisenetwork search terms that may be utilized in a search engine to searchfor information corresponding to the user-selected object. Suchinformation may also comprise information describing the networkboundaries of such a search, for example, identifying particular searchnetworks, particular servers, particular addresses, particulardatabases, etc.

In an exemplary scenario the information corresponding to auser-selectable object may describe a manner in which a system is tointact with a user to more clearly identify information desired by theuser. For example, such information may comprise information specifyinguser interaction that should take place when an amount of informationavailable and corresponding to a user-selectable object exceeds aparticular threshold. Such user interaction may, for example, help toreduce the amount of information that may ultimately be presented to theuser. For example, such information may comprise information describinga user interface comprising providing a list (or menu) of types ofinformation available to the user and soliciting information from theuser regarding the selection of one or more of the listed types ofinformation.

In yet another exemplary scenario, in which an action associated with auser-selectable object comprises the establishment and/or management ofa communication session between the user and one or more networkedentities, the user-selectable object information may compriseinformation describing the manner in which a communication session maybe established and/or management.

In still another exemplary scenario, in which an action associated witha user-selectable object comprises providing a user interface by which auser may initiate and perform a commercial transaction regarding auser-selectable object, the user-selectable object information maycomprise information describing the manner in which the commercialtransaction is to be performed (e.g., order forms, financial informationexchange, order tracking, etc.).

As shown above, various user-selectable objects (or types of objects)may, for example, be associated with any of a variety of respectiveactions that may be taken upon selection of a respective user-selectableobject by a user. Such actions (e.g., information retrieval, informationsearching, communication session management, commercial transactionmanagement, etc.) may, for example, be included in a table or other datastructure indexed by the identity of a respective user-selectableobject.

Other non-limiting examples of object information corresponding touser-selectable objects in a still image may comprise: athleteinformation (e.g., statistics, personal information, professionalinformation, history, etc.), entertainer information (e.g., personalinformation, discography and/or filmography information, information ofrelated organizations, fan club information, photograph and/or videoinformation, etc.), landmark information (e.g., historical information,visitation information, location information, mapping information, photoalbum information, visitation diary, charitable donation information,etc.), political figure information (e.g., party affiliation, stances onparticular issues, history, financial information, voting record,attendance record, etc.), information regarding general types of objects(e.g., information describing actions to take upon user-selection of aperson object, of a consumer good object, of a landmark object, etc.)and/or specific objects (e.g., information describing actions to takewhen a particular person object is selected, when a particular consumergood object is selected, when a particular landmark object is selected,etc.).

For additional non-limiting examples of actions that may be performedrelated to user-selectable objects (e.g., in still images as well as intelevision programming), and related user-selectable object informationthat may be combined with still image information, the reader isdirected to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed concurrentlyherewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FORRESPONDING TO USER-SELECTION OF AN OBJECT IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”,Attorney Docket No. 21045US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,filed concurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A LOCALTELEVISION SYSTEM FOR RESPONDING TO USER-SELECTION OF AN OBJECT IN ATELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21046US02; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEMAND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR RESPONDING TO USER-SELECTION OF ANOBJECT IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM BASED ON USER LOCATION”, Attorney DocketNo. 21047US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEMFOR PRESENTING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH A USER-SELECTED OBJECT IN ATELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21048US02; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEMAND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION ASSOCIATEDWITH A USER-SELECTED OBJECT IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney DocketNo. 21049US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEMFOR RESPONDING TO USER-SELECTION OF AN OBJECT IN A TELEVISION PROGRAMUTILIZING AN ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION NETWORK”, Attorney Docket No.21050US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed concurrentlyherewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION FOR PROVIDINGADVERTISING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH A USER-SELECTED OBJECT IN ATELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21053US02; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEMAND METHOD IN A TELEVISION FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH AUSER-SELECTED PERSON IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21054US02; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION FORPROVIDING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH A USER-SELECTED INFORMATIONELEMENT IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21055US02. Theentire contents of each of such applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

In general, the above-mentioned types of information corresponding touser-selectable objects a still image may be general to all eventualviewers (or recipients) of the still image, but may also be customizedto a particular target user and/or end user. For example, suchinformation may be customized to a particular user (e.g., based onincome level, demographics, age, employment status and/or type,education level and/or type, family characteristics, religion,purchasing history, neighborhood characteristics, home characteristics,health characteristics, etc. For example, such information may also becustomized to a particular geographical location or region.

In general, step 220 may comprise receiving object informationcorresponding to a user-selectable object in the still image.Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the present inventionshould not be limited by characteristics of any particular type of suchuser-selectable object information or by any particular manner ofreceiving such user-selectable object information unless explicitlyclaimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 230, comprise combining thereceived still image information (e.g., as received at step 210) and thereceived user-selectable object information (e.g., as received at step220) in a combined data set. Many non-limiting examples of suchcombining will now be provided.

As mentioned previously, step 210 may comprise receiving still imageinformation (e.g., a still image data set) for a still image (e.g., aphotographic image) by, at least in part, receiving a completed stillimage data set for the still image (e.g., formatted in accordance with astill image communication and/or compression standard), where thecompleted still image data set is formatted for communicating (orstoring) the still image without information describing user-selectableobjects in the still image. In such an exemplary scenario, step 230 maycomprise combining the received still image information and the receiveduser-selectable object information by, at least in part, inserting thereceived user-selectable object information in the completed still imagedata set to create a combined data set comprising the received stillimage data set and the received user-selectable object information.

For example, in an exemplary scenario in which the received completedstill image data set, as received, is formatted in accordance with astill image standard (e.g., a JPEG standard), step 230 may compriseinserting the received user-selectable object information in data fieldsof the completed still image data set that are not assigned by the stillimage standard for any specific type of information (e.g., insertingsuch information into unassigned data fields and/or metadata fieldsprovided by the still image standard, adding new data fields to thestill image standard, etc.).

Such inserting may, for example, comprise inserting the receiveduser-selectable object information in data fields of the completed stillimage data set that are interleaved with data fields carrying stillimage data. For example, such inserting may be performed in accordancewith a format alternating still image data and user-selectable objectinformation (or data) on a pixel-by-pixel basis (e.g., sequencing pixel1 still image data, pixel 1 user-selectable object information,sequencing pixel 2 still image data, pixel 2 user-selectable objectinformation, etc.), by groups of pixels (e.g., pixel 1-A still imagedata, pixel 1-A user-selectable object information, pixel A-N stillimage data, pixel A-N user-selectable object information, etc.), bylines of pixels, by blocks of pixels, etc. Also for example, utilizingpixel, coordinate or other spatial information, user-selectable objectinformation need not be strictly placed with the still image data forthe still image in which the user-selectable object appears. Forexample, information of user-selectable objects in a still image and/orportion thereof may be communicated before and/or after the image dataset for the entire still image is communicated.

Also for example, in another exemplary scenario in which the receivedcompleted still image data set (e.g., a picture data set), as received,is formatted in accordance with a still image standard that specificallyassigns data fields to information of user-selectable objects, step 230may comprise inserting the received user-selectable object informationin the data fields of the completed still image data set that arespecifically assigned by the still image standard to contain informationof user-selectable objects.

Also as mentioned previously, step 210 may comprise receiving stillimage information (e.g., a still image data set) for a still image(e.g., a photographic image) by, at least in part, receiving still imageinformation for the still image prior to the still image informationbeing formatted into a completed still image data set for communicating(or storing) the still image. For example, such a scenario may comprisereceiving information describing the still image that has yet to beformatted into a data set that conforms to a particular still imagestandard (e.g., bitmap information, DCT information, etc., which has yetto be placed into a self-contained JPEG data set for communicatingand/or storing the still image). In such an exemplary scenario, step 230may comprise combining the received still image information and thereceived user-selectable object information into a completed still imagedata set that is formatted for communicating and/or storing the stillimage with information describing user-selectable objects in the stillimage (e.g., into a single cohesive data set, for example, a single datafile or other data structure, into a plurality of logically linked datafiles or other data structures, etc.).

In an exemplary scenario, such a completed still image data set may beformatted in accordance with a still image standard that specificallyassigns respective data fields (or elements) to information describingthe still image and to user-selectable object information. In anotherexemplary scenario, such a completed still image data set may beformatted in accordance with a still image standard that specificallyassigns data fields to information describing a still image, but doesnot specifically assign data fields to user-selectable objectinformation (e.g., utilizing general-purpose unassigned data fields,adding new data fields to the standard, etc.).

Also as mentioned previously, step 210 may comprise receiving stillimage information for a still image by, at least in part, receiving aninitial combined still image data set that comprises initial still imageinformation and initial user-selectable object information correspondingto user-selectable objects in the still image. For example, prior tobeing received, the received initial combined still image data set mayhave already been formed into a single cohesive data set that comprisesthe still image information for the still image and information ofuser-selectable objects in the still image.

In such an exemplary scenario, step 230 may comprise modifying theinitial user-selectable object information of the initial combined stillimage data set in accordance with the received user-selectable objectinformation (e.g., as received at step 220). Such modifying may, forexample and without limitation, comprise adding the received objectinformation to the initial object information in the initial combinedstill image data set (e.g., in unused unassigned data fields and/or inunused data fields that have been specifically assigned to containuser-selectable object information, etc.).

Also such modifying may comprise changing at least a portion of theinitial object information of the initial combined still image data setin accordance with the received user-selectable object information(e.g., changing information defining a user-selectable object in apresented still image, changing information about a user-selectableobject to be presented to a user, changing information regarding anyaction that may be performed upon user-selection of a user-selectableobject, etc.). Additionally, such modifying may comprise deleting atleast a portion of the initial object information in accordance with thereceived user-selectable object information (e.g., in a scenario inwhich the received user-selectable object information includes a commandor directive to remove a portion or all information corresponding to aparticular user-selectable object).

In the previously provided examples of combining the received stillimage information and the received user-selectable object information,step 230 may comprise performing such operations automatically (i.e.,without real-time interaction with a user while such operations arebeing performed) and may also be performed with user interaction. Forexample, the received still image information and the receiveduser-selectable object information may each be uniquely identified toassist in merging such information. For example, step 230 may compriseanalyzing such respective unique identifications to determine the stillimage data set in which the user-selectable object information is to beinserted. For example, the user-selectable object information for aparticular user-selectable object may comprise information indentifyingthe specific still image in which the user-selectable object appears.Such information may be utilized at step 230 to determine theappropriate data set (e.g., still image data file or other bounded dataset0 in which to place the user-selectable object information.

In another example, step 230 may comprise presenting an operator with aview of the still image and a view of a user-selectable object in suchstill image for which information is being added to a combined dataset.Step 230 may then comprise interacting with the operator to obtainpermission and/or directions for combining the still image anduser-selectable object information.

Note that step 230 may comprise encrypting the user-selectable objectinformation or otherwise restricting access to such information. Forexample, in a scenario in which access to such information is providedon a subscription basis, in a scenario in which providers of suchinformation desire to protect such information from undesirable accessand/or manipulation, etc., such information protection may bebeneficial.

In general, step 230 may comprise combining the received still imageinformation (e.g., as received at step 210) and the receiveduser-selectable object information (e.g., as received at step 220) in acombined data set. Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of thepresent invention should not be limited by any particular manner ofperforming such combining and/or any particular format in which such acombined data set may be placed unless specifically claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 240, comprise communicating thecombined data set(s) (e.g., as formed at step 230) to one or morerecipient systems or devices. Such communication may comprisecharacteristics of any of a variety of types of communication,non-limiting examples of which will now be presented.

Step 240 may, for example, comprise communicating the combined dataset(s) via a communication network (e.g., a television communicationnetwork, a telecommunication network, a general data communicationnetwork (e.g., the Internet, a LAN, a PAN, etc.), etc.). Manynon-limiting examples of such communication network were providedpreviously. Step 240 may, for example, comprise broadcasting,multi-casting and/or uni-casting the combined data set over one or morecommunication networks. Step 240 may also, for example, comprisecommunicating the combined data set(s) to another system and/or devicevia a direct conductive path (e.g., via a wire, circuit board trace,conductive trace on a die, etc.).

Additionally for example, step 240 may comprise storing the combineddata set(s) on a computer readable medium (e.g., a DVD, a CD, a Blueray® disc, a laser disc, a magnetic tape, a hard drive, a diskette, etc.).Such a computer readable medium may then, for example, be shipped to adistributor and/or ultimate recipient of the computer readable medium.Further for example, step 240 may comprise storing the combined dataset(s) in a volatile and/or non-volatile memory device (e.g., a flashmemory device, a one-time-programmable memory device, an EEPROM, a RAM,etc.).

Further for example, step 240 may comprise storing (or causing orotherwise participating in the storage of) the combined data set(s) in amedia system component (e.g., a component or device of the user's localmedia (or still image presentation) system and/or a component or deviceof a media (or still image) provider and/or a component or device of anystill image information source. For example and without limitation, step240 may comprise storing the combined dataset(s), or otherwiseparticipating in the storage of the combined dataset(s), in a componentof the user's local media system (e.g., in an image presentation device,a digital video recorder, a media receiver, a media player, a mediasystem controller, personal communication device, a local networkeddatabase, a local networked personal computer, etc.).

Step 240 may, for example, comprise communicating the combined data setin serial fashion. For example, step 240 may comprise communicating thecombined data set (comprising interleaved still image information anduser-selectable object information) in a single data stream (e.g., via ageneral data network, via a television or other media network, stored ona hard medium, for example a non-transitory computer-readable medium, insuch serial fashion, etc.). Also for example, step 240 may comprisecommunicating the combined data set in parallel data streams, each ofwhich comprises interleaved still image information and user-selectableobject information (e.g., as opposed to separate distinct respectivedata streams for each of still image information and user-selectableobject information).

In general, step 240 may comprise communicating the combined data set(s)(e.g., as formed at step 230) to one or more recipient systems ordevices (e.g., an end user or associated system, media (or image)provider or associated system, an advertiser or associated system, amedia (or image) producer or associated system, a media (or image)database, a media (or image) server, etc.). Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of any particular manner of performing suchcommunicating or by any particular recipient of such communicationunless explicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, for example at step 295, compriseperforming continued operations. Step 295 may comprise performing any ofa variety of continued operations, non-limiting examples of suchcontinued operation(s) will be presented below. For example, step 295may comprise returning execution flow to any of the previously discussedmethod steps. For example, step 295 may comprise returning executionflow of the exemplary method 200 to step 220 for receiving additionaluser-selectable object information to combine with still imageinformation. Also for example, step 295 may comprise returning executionflow of the exemplary method 200 to step 210 for receiving additionalstill image information and user-selectable object information tocombine with such received still image information. Additionally forexample, step 295 may comprise returning execution flow of the exemplarymethod 200 to step 240 for additional communication of the combinedinformation to additional recipients.

In general, step 295 may comprise performing continued operations (e.g.,performing additional operations corresponding to combining still imageinformation and information of user-selectable objects in such stillimages, etc.). Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the presentinvention should not be limited by characteristics of any particulartype of continued processing unless explicitly claimed.

Turning next to FIG. 3, such figure is a flow diagram illustrating anexemplary method 300 for providing embedded information of selectableobjects in a still image, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention. The exemplary method 300 may, for example, share anyor all characteristics with the exemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG.2 and discussed previously. Any or all aspects of the exemplary method300 may, for example, be implemented in a media system component (e.g.,the media information provider 110, third party image informationprovider 120, a component of a communication network 130, first mediapresentation device 140, first media controller 160, second mediapresentation device 141, media receiver 151, second media controller161, shown in FIG. 1 and discussed previously) and/or a plurality ofsuch media system components operating in conjunction. For example, anyor all aspects of the exemplary method 300 may be implemented in one ormore media (or image) system components remote from the user's localmedia system. Also for example, any or all aspects of the exemplarymethod 200 may be implemented in one or more components of the user'slocal media (or image) system.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example, begin executing at step 305.The exemplary method 300 may begin executing in response to any of avariety of causes or conditions. Step 305 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with step 205 of the exemplary method 200illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 310, comprisereceiving image information for a still image. Step 310 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with step 210 of the exemplarymethod 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously. For example,step 310 may comprise receiving any of the various types of still imageinformation from any of the various sources of still image informationvia any of the various communication media discussed previously withregard to the method 200 of FIG. 2 and the system 100 of FIG. 1 andelsewhere herein.

For example, step 310 may comprise, for example at sub-step 312,receiving a completed still image data set for the still image, thecompleted still image data set formatted for communicating and/orstoring the still image without information describing user-selectableobjects in the still image. Alternatively for example, step 310 maycomprise, for example at sub-step 314, receiving still image informationfor the still image prior to the still image information being formattedinto a completed still image data set for communicating and/or storingthe still image. Alternatively for example, step 310 may comprise, forexample at sub-step 316, receiving a completed still image data set forthe still image, the completed still image data set formatted forcommunicating and/or storing the still image with information describinguser-selectable objects in the still image.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 320, comprisereceiving object information corresponding to a user-selectable objectin the still image. Step 320 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with step 220 of the exemplary method 200 illustrated inFIG. 2 and discussed previously. For example, step 320 may comprisereceiving any of the various types of user-selectable object informationfrom any of the various sources of user-selectable object informationvia any of the various types of media discussed previously with regardto the method 200 of FIG. 2 and the system 100 of FIG. 1 and elsewhereherein.

For example, step 320 may comprise, for example at sub-step 322,receiving user-selectable object information comprising informationdescribing and/or defining the user-selectable object that is shown inthe still image (e.g., object dimension information, object movementinformation, etc.). Also for example, step 320 may comprise, for exampleat sub-step 324, receiving user-selectable object information comprisinginformation regarding the user-selectable object that may be presentedto the user upon user-selection of such object in a still image.

Additionally for example, step 320 may comprise, for example at sub-step326, receiving user-selectable object information comprising informationdescribing and/or defining actions that may be taken upon user-selectionof a user-selectable object (e.g., retrieving and/or obtaining and/orsearching for information about a user-selectable object, informationspecifying a manner in which a system is to interact with a userregarding a user-selected object, searching for information,establishing and/or maintaining communication sessions, informationdescribing the manner in which the commercial transaction is to beperformed, etc.).

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 330, comprisecombining the received still image information (e.g., as received atstep 310) and the received user-selectable object information (e.g., asreceived at step 320) in a combined data set. Step 330 may, for example,share any or all characteristics with step 230 of the exemplary method200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

For example, step 330 may comprise, for example at sub-step 332,inserting the received user-selectable object information in a completedstill image data set that was received at step 320 (e.g., inserting suchuser-selectable object information in fields of the still image data setthat are specified by a standard for carrying such user-selectableobject information, inserting such user-selectable object information infields of the still image data set that are not specifically allocatedfor a particular type of data, etc.).

Also for example, step 330 may comprise, for example at sub-step 334,combining received still image data and received user-selectable objectinformation into a completed still image data set that is formatted forcommunicating the still image with information describinguser-selectable objects in the still image. Additionally for example,step 330 may comprise, for example at sub-step 336, modifying initialuser-selectable object information of an initial combined still imagedata set in accordance with received user-selectable object information.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 340, comprisecommunicating the combined data set(s) (e.g., as formed at step 230) toone or more recipient systems or devices. Step 340 may, for example,share any or all characteristics with step 240 of the exemplary method200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

For example, step 340 may comprise, for example at sub-step 342,communicating the combined data set(s) via a communication network(e.g., any of a variety of communication networks discussed herein,etc.). Also for example, step 340 may comprise, for example, at sub-step344, communicating the combined data set(s) by storing the combined dataset(s) on a non-transitory computer readable medium and/or bytransmitting the combined data set(s) to another device or system toperform such storage. Additionally for example, step 340 may comprise,for example, at sub-step 346, communicating the combined data set in asingle serial stream (e.g., comprising interleaved still image data anduser-selectable object information). Further for example, step 340 maycomprise, for example, at sub-step 348, communicating the combined dataset in a plurality of parallel serial streams (e.g., each of suchstreams comprising interleaved still image data and user-selectableobject information).

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 395, compriseperforming continued operations. Step 395 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with step 295 of the exemplary method 200illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

As discussed previously with regard to FIGS. 2 and 3, various aspects ofthe present invention may comprise incorporating information ofuser-selectable objects in a still image into a combined data set thatcomprises such information along with information generally descriptiveof the still image, and communication of such a combined data set. Aswill now be discussed, various aspects of the present invention maycomprise forming, communicating and/or storing a user-selectable objectdata set that is independent of a corresponding still image data set.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 400 forproviding information of selectable objects in a still image in aninformation stream independent of the still image, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present invention. Any or all aspects of theexemplary method 400 may, for example, be implemented in a media systemcomponent (e.g., the media information provider 110, third party imageinformation provider 120, a component of a communication network 130,first media presentation device 140, first media controller 160, secondmedia presentation device 141, media receiver 151, second mediacontroller 161, shown in FIG. 1 and discussed previously) and/or aplurality of such media system components operating in conjunction. Forexample, any or all aspects of the exemplary method 400 may beimplemented in one or more media system components remote from theuser's local media system. Also for example, any or all aspects of theexemplary method 400 may be implemented in one or more components of theuser's local media system.

The exemplary method 400 may, for example, begin executing at step 405.The exemplary method 400 may begin executing in response to any of avariety of causes and/or conditions. Step 405 may, for example, shareany or all characteristics with steps 205 and 305 of the exemplarymethods 200 and 300 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and discussedpreviously.

The exemplary method 400 may, for example at step 410, comprisereceiving image information for a still image. Step 410 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with steps 210 and 310 of theexemplary methods 200 and 300 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and discussedpreviously.

The exemplary method 400 may, for example at step 420, comprisedetermining user-selectable object information corresponding to one ormore user-selectable objects in a still image. Step 420 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with steps 220 and 320 of theexemplary methods 200 and 300 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and discussedpreviously.

For example, step 420 may comprise receiving the user-selectable objectinformation from any of a variety of sources, non-limiting examples ofwhich were provided previously (e.g., in the discussion of step 220 andelsewhere herein). The object information corresponding to one or moreuser-selectable objects that is determined at step 210 (e.g., developedby and received from a local process and/or received from an externalsource) may comprise any of a variety of characteristics, numerousexamples of such object information were provided previously (e.g., inthe discussion of step 220 and elsewhere herein).

The exemplary method 400 may, at step 430, comprise forming auser-selectable object data set comprising the determineduser-selectable object information (e.g., as determined at step 420),where the user-selectable object data set is independent of a stillimage data set (e.g., as received at step 410) generally representativeof the still image. Step 430 may comprise performing such data setformation in any of a variety of manners, non-limiting examples of whichwill now be presented.

For example, step 430 may comprise forming the user-selectable objectdata set (e.g., a data file or other data structure, a logical groupingof data, etc.) in a manner that is spatially synchronized with a stillimage (or a still image data set representative of a still image).

For example, in an exemplary scenario in which a still image data set isparsed into blocks (e.g., groups of pixels), step 430 may compriseforming the user-selectable object data set by, at least in part,parsing the user-selectable object information in a manner thatlogically mirrors the still image data set blocks. For example, in ascenario where a user-selectable object appears in block N of a stillimage, the user-selectable object information describing theuser-selectable object may be placed in a corresponding block (e.g., Nthblock, data segment, etc.) of the user-selectable object data set. Insuch a scenario, the user-selectable object data set might include null(or no) information in blocks corresponding to still image blocks thatdo not include any user-selectable objects. For example, theuser-selectable object data set need not include information for block Pif corresponding block P of the still image does not include anyuser-selectable objects.

As another example, in an exemplary scenario in which a still image dataset is parsed into blocks, step 430 may comprise forming theuser-selectable object data set by, at least in part, includinginformation indicating the blocks of the still image in which theuser-selectable object appears (e.g., along with the dimensions of theuser-selectable object and/or other spatially descriptive information).For example, in an exemplary scenario in which a user-selectable objectappears in blocks A-B of a still image, step 430 may compriseincorporating information into the user-selectable object data set thatindicates the user-selectable object appears in blocks A-B of the stillimage, along with information describing the dimensions and/or locationsof the user-selectable object in such blocks of the still image.

Note that in an exemplary scenario in which the user-selectable objectdata set includes information that spatially synchronizes theuser-selectable object data set to the still image data set, not allinformation of the user-selectable object data set need be sosynchronized. For example, information corresponding to user-selectableobjects that is not spatially-specific may be included in theuser-selectable object data set in an unsynchronized (or asynchronous)manner. In an exemplary scenario, information describing user-selectableobjects (or selectable regions thereof) as such user-selectable objectsappear in a presented still image may be spatially-synchronized (e.g.,block-synchronized) to the still image data set, while information to bepresented to the user upon user-selection of such user-selectableobjects and/or information describing any action to take uponuser-selection of such user-selectable objects may be included in theuser-selectable object data set in an unsynchronized manner (e.g., in adata structure (or sub-data structure) that is indexed by objectidentity to retrieve such information).

Though the above examples were directed to spatially-basedsynchronization of the user-selectable object data set to the stillimage (e.g., a corresponding still image data set), othersynchronization information may also be utilized. For example, in anexemplary scenario in which a still image is presented for a particulartime window, the user-selectable object data set may comprise timesynchronization information indicating that such user-selectable objectdata set corresponds to the particular time window. Also for example,step 430 may comprise incorporating data markers into theuser-selectable object data set that correspond to respective markers ina still image data set. Additionally for example, step 430 may compriseincorporating data pointers into the user-selectable object data setthat point to respective absolute and/or relative locations within astill image data set.

The above examples generally apply to information describing thepresence of user-selectable objects in the still image. As discussedpreviously, the user-selectable object information may also compriseinformation to be provided to the user upon selection of auser-selectable object, information describing communication sessionsand/or other actions that may be performed upon selection of theuser-selectable object, etc. Note that in particular exemplaryscenarios, such information may be incorporated into the user-selectableobject data set at step 430. For example, step 430 may compriseincorporating such user-selectable object information into theuser-selectable object data set in a manner that provides for indexingsuch information by object identity. For example, such information needonly be incorporated into the user-selectable object data set one time(e.g., positioned in the user-selectable object data set such that arecipient of the user-selectable object data set will have received suchinformation prior to user selection of the user-selectable objectcorresponding to such information). For example, in an exemplaryscenario involving a user-selectable consumer good in a still image,step 430 may comprise forming the user-selectable object data set suchthat, when communicated to a user's local media (or image) presentationsystem, information of actions to perform upon user selection of theconsumer good in the still image will have been received by the user'slocal media (or image) presentation system prior to the user's firstopportunity to select the consumer good in the still image.

As discussed above, the user-selectable object data set formed at step430 may comprise characteristics of different types of data sets (orstructures). For example, step 430 may comprise forming a data file thatcomprises the user-selectable object information. Such a user-selectableobject data file may, for example, comprise metadata that correlates theuser-selectable object data file to one or more corresponding stillimage data files that are utilized to communicate the general stillimage (e.g., without user-selectable object information).

Step 430 may also, for example, comprise forming an array of theuser-selectable object information. Such an array may, for example,comprise an array or records associated with respective user-selectableobjects in a still image and may be indexed and/or sorted by objectidentification. Similarly, step 430 may comprise forming a linked listof respective data records corresponding to user-selectable objects inthe still image. Such a linked list may, for example, be amulti-dimensional linked list with user-selectable object in a firstdimension and respective records associated with different types ofinformation associated with a particular user-selectable object in asecond dimension.

As mentioned above, the user-selectable object data set may beindependent of one or more still image data sets generallyrepresentative of the still image. Such an implementation advantageouslyprovides for independent formation and maintenance of theuser-selectable object data set that corresponds to the still image. Forexample, in such an implementation, a data set (e.g., a still image datafile, JPEG file, etc.) for a still image may be developed (e.g., by aimage studio) for communication of the still image to all users, while adata set for user-selectable objects in the still image may be developed(e.g., by an advertising company, by a sponsor, by a network operator,by one or more components of a user's local media system, etc.)independently. In such a scenario, the user-selectable object data setmay be developed and/or changes may be made to the user-selectableobject data set without impacting the still image data set. Also, insuch a scenario, as mentioned above, user-selectable object informationmay be customized to a user or group of users. In such a scenario, aplurality of different user-selectable object data sets may be developedthat each correspond to the same still image data set. For example, step220 may comprise forming a first user-selectable object data set for aNew York audience or recipient of a still image, and forming a seconduser-selectable object data set for a Los Angeles audience or recipientof the still image without necessitating modification of the still imagedata set, which communicates the still image in the same manner to eachof the New York and Los Angeles audiences or recipients.

In general, step 430 may comprise forming a user-selectable object dataset comprising the determined user-selectable object information (e.g.,as determined at step 220), where the user-selectable object data set isindependent of a still image data set generally representative of thestill image. Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the presentinvention should not be limited by characteristics of particular typesof user-selectable object data, characteristics of particular types ofuser-selectable object data sets, and/or characteristics of anyparticular manner of forming user-selectable object data sets unlessexplicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 400 may, at step 440, comprise communicating theformed user-selectable object data set (e.g., as formed at step 430) toone or more recipients. Step 440 may comprise performing suchcommunicating in any of a variety of manners, non-limiting examples ofwhich will now be provided.

For example, step 440 may comprise communicating the user-selectableobject data set in one or more data streams (which may be called“user-selectable object data streams” herein) independent of one or morestill image data streams that generally communicate the still image(i.e., that generally communicate the still image data set). Note that,while such still image data set generally need not comprise informationof user-selectable objects therein, such information may be present. Forexample, the user-selectable object data set may comprise information ofuser-selectable objects in the still image that supplement (e.g., appendand/or amend) information of user-selectable objects that might bepresent in the still image data set.

Step 440 may, for example, comprise communicating the user-selectableobject data set time-synchronized to communication of the still imagedata set. For example, even in a scenario in which the user-selectableobject data set is independent of the general still image data set, step440 may still time-synchronize communication of the user-selectableobject data set with communication of the general still image data set.

For example, in such an exemplary scenario, step 440 may comprisecommunicating the user-selectable object data concurrently (e.g.,simultaneously and/or pseudo-simultaneously in a time-sharing manner)with communication of the still image data set that generallycommunicates the still image. For example, such concurrent communicationmay comprise communicating at least a portion of the user-selectableobject data set and at least a portion of the still image data set in atime-multiplexed manner (e.g., via a shared communication channel (e.g.,a frequency channel, a code channel, a time/frequency channel, etc.)).Also for example, such concurrent communication may comprisecommunicating the user-selectable object data set in parallel withcommunication of the still image data set (e.g., on separate respectivesets of one or more parallel communication channels).

Also for example, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set via at least one communication channelthat is different from one or more communication channels over which thestill image data set is communicated. For example, even in a scenario inwhich the user-selectable object data set and the still image data setare communicated over at least one shared communication channel, step440 may comprise communicating the user-selectable object data set in atleast one communication channel that is different from the communicationchannel(s) over which the still image data set is communicated.

Step 440 may, for example, comprise communicating the user-selectableobject data set over a first communication network that is differentfrom a second communication network over which the still image data setis communicated. As a non-limiting example, step 440 may comprisecommunicating the user-selectable object data set over a firstcommunication network (e.g., a first general data communicationnetwork), where the still image data set is communicated over a secondcommunication network (e.g., a second general data communicationnetwork).

Step 440 may, for example, comprise communicating the user-selectableobject data set over a first type of communication network that isdifferent from a second type of communication network over which thestill image data set is communicated. As a non-limiting example, step440 may comprise communicating the user-selectable object data set overa first general data communication network, where the still image dataset is communicated over a television communication network (e.g., acable television network, a satellite television network, etc.).

Also for example, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set utilizing a first communication protocolthat is different from a second communication protocol that is utilizedto communicate the still image data set. For example, step 440 maycomprise communicating the user-selectable data set utilizing TCP/IP,while the general still image data set is communicated utilizing a cabletelevision protocol.

Also for example, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set to a first set of one or more user localmedia (or image) presentation systems, where the first set is a subsetof a second set of user local media (or image) presentation systems towhich the still image data set is communicated. For example, step 440may comprise multicasting the user-selectable object data set to amulticast group, where the still image data set is broadcast to asuperset of the multicast group. Also for example, step 440 may compriseunicasting the user-selectable object data set to a single user localmedia (or image) presentation system, where the still image data set isbroadcast or multicast to a superset of the single user.

Additionally for example, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set to a first set of one or more componentsof a user's local media (or image) presentation system, where at least aportion of such first set is different from a second set of one or morecomponents of the user's local media (or image) presentation system towhich the still image data set is communicated. For example, in anon-limiting exemplary scenario in which the still image data set isbeing communicated to a media receiver and a media controller of auser's local media system, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set to the media controller and not to themedia receiver.

Step 440 may comprise communicating the user-selectable object data setwith or without regard for the timing of the communication of the stillimage (e.g., the still image data set) to which the user-selectableobject data set corresponds. For example, step 440 may comprisecommunicating the user-selectable object data set whenever the stillimage data set is communicated. Also for example, step 440 may comprisecommunicating the entire user-selectable object data set before thestill image data set is communicated. In such a scenario, the recipientof the communicated user-selectable object data set may be assured ofhaving received such data set prior to receipt of the still image towhich the user-selectable object data set corresponds.

Though the previous examples generally concerned step 440 communicatingthe user-selectable object data set via a communication network to oneor more destination systems, step 440 may also comprise communicatingthe user-selectable object data set to a storage device where theuser-selectable object data set is stored in a storage medium, forexample an optical storage media (e.g., compact disc, digital versatiledisc, Blueray®, laser disc, etc.), magnetic storage media (e.g., harddisc, diskette, magnetic tape, etc.), computer memory device (e.g.,non-transitory computer-readable medium, flash memory,one-time-programmable memory, read-only memory, random access memory,thumb drive, etc.), etc. Such memory may, for example, be a temporaryand/or permanent component of the system entity implementing the method400.

In such a scenario, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set to a storage device where theuser-selectable object data set is stored in a same storage medium as amedium on which the still image data set is stored. For example, theuser-selectable object data set may be stored in one or more datastructures that are independent of one or more data structures in whichthe still image data set is stored (e.g., stored in one or more separatedata files).

Also, in such a scenario, step 440 may comprise communicating theuser-selectable object data set to one or more devices of the user'slocal media system (e.g., a media receiver, a digital video recorder, amedia presentation device, a media controller, a personal computer,etc.) and/or one or more devices of a media source system and/or one ormore devices of a media distribution system for storage in suchdevice(s).

In general, step 440 may comprise communicating the formeduser-selectable object data set (e.g., as formed at step 430) to one ormore recipients (e.g., an end user or associated system, still imageprovider or associated system, an advertiser or associated system, astill image producer or associated system, a still image database, astill image server, etc.). Accordingly, the scope of various aspects ofthe present invention should not be limited by characteristics of anyparticular manner of performing such communicating or by any particularrecipient of such communication unless explicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 400 may, for example at step 495, compriseperforming continued operations. Step 495 may comprise performing any ofa variety of continued operations, non-limiting examples of suchcontinued operation(s) will be presented below. For example, step 495may comprise returning execution flow to any of the previously discussedmethod steps. For example, step 495 may comprise returning executionflow of the exemplary method 400 to step 420 for receiving additionaluser-selectable object information to form into an independentuser-selectable object data set and communicate. Additionally forexample, step 495 may comprise returning execution flow of the exemplarymethod 400 to step 440 for additional communication of theuser-selectable object data set (e.g., to additional recipients).

In general, step 495 may comprise performing continued operations (e.g.,performing additional operations corresponding to forming and/orcommunicating user-selectable object data sets related touser-selectable objects in a still image. Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of any particular type of continued processing unlessexplicitly claimed.

Turning next to FIG. 5, such figure is a diagram illustrating anexemplary media system 500 (e.g., single media system component and/orplurality of media system components), in accordance with variousaspects of the present invention. The exemplary media system 500 may,for example, share any or all characteristics with one or more of themedia system components illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed previously.For example, the exemplary media system 500 may correspond to any of themedia system components illustrated in FIG. 1 (or the like) or any groupof the media system components illustrated in FIG. 1 (or the like).Also, the exemplary media system 500 may comprise characteristics of acomputing system (e.g., a personal computer, a mainframe computer, adigital signal processor, etc.). The exemplary media system 500 (e.g.,various modules thereof) may operate to perform any or all of thefunctionality discussed previously with regard to the exemplary methods200, 300 and 400 illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 and discussed previously.

The exemplary media system 500 includes a first communication interfacemodule 510. The first communication interface module 510 may, forexample, operate to communicate over any of a variety of communicationmedia and utilizing any of a variety of communication protocols. Forexample, though the first communication interface module 510 isillustrated coupled to a wireless RF antenna via a wireless port 512,the wireless medium is merely illustrative and non-limiting. The firstcommunication interface module 510 may, for example, operate tocommunicate with one or more communication networks (e.g., cabletelevision networks, satellite television networks, telecommunicationnetworks, general data communication networks, the Internet, local areanetworks, personal area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc.) viawhich still image-related information (e.g., still image information,information of user-selectable objects in a still image, still imageinformation with and without embedded information of user-selectableobjects) and/or other data is communicated. Also for example, the firstcommunication interface module 510 may operate to communicate with localsources of still image-related content or other data (e.g., disc drives,computer-readable medium readers, video or image recorders, cameras,computers, receivers, personal electronic devices, cellular telephones,personal digital assistants, personal media players, etc.).Additionally, for example, the first communication interface module 510may operate to communicate with a remote controller (e.g., directly orvia one or more intermediate communication networks).

The exemplary media system 500 includes a second communication interfacemodule 520. The second communication interface module 520 may, forexample, operate to communicate over any of a variety of communicationmedia and utilizing any of a variety of communication protocols. Forexample, the second communication interface module 520 may communicatevia a wireless RF communication port 522 and antenna, or may communicatevia a non-tethered optical communication port 524 (e.g., utilizing laserdiodes, photodiodes, etc.). Also for example, the second communicationinterface module 520 may communicate via a tethered opticalcommunication port 526 (e.g., utilizing a fiber optic cable), or maycommunicate via a wired communication port 528 (e.g., utilizing coaxialcable, twisted pair, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable, any of a variety ofwired component and/or composite video connections, etc.). The secondcommunication interface module 520 may, for example, operate tocommunicate with one or more communication networks (e.g., cabletelevision networks, satellite television networks, telecommunicationnetworks, general data communication networks, the Internet, local areanetworks, personal area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc.) viawhich still image-related information (e.g., still image information,information of user-selectable objects in a still image, imageinformation with and without embedded information of user-selectableobjects) and/or other data is communicated. Also for example, the secondcommunication module 520 may operate to communicate with local sourcesof still image-related information (e.g., disc drives, computer-readablemedium readers, video or image recorders, cameras, computers, receivers,personal electronic devices, cellular telephones, personal digitalassistants, personal media players, etc.). Additionally, for example,the second communication module 520 may operate to communicate with aremote controller (e.g., directly or via one or more interveningcommunication networks).

The exemplary media system 500 may also comprise additionalcommunication interface modules, which are not illustrated (some ofwhich may also be shown in FIG. 6). Such additional communicationinterface modules may, for example, share any or all aspects with thefirst 510 and second 520 communication interface modules discussedabove.

The exemplary media system 500 may also comprise a communication module530. The communication module 530 may, for example, operate to controland/or coordinate operation of the first communication interface module510 and the second communication interface module 520 (and/or additionalcommunication interface modules as needed). The communication module 530may, for example, provide a convenient communication interface by whichother components of the media system 500 may utilize the first 510 andsecond 520 communication interface modules. Additionally, for example,in an exemplary scenario where a plurality of communication interfacemodules are sharing a medium and/or network, the communication module530 may coordinate communications to reduce collisions and/or otherinterference between the communication interface modules.

The exemplary media system 500 may additionally comprise one or moreuser interface modules 540. The user interface module 540 may generallyoperate to provide user interface functionality to a user of the mediasystem 500. For example, and without limitation, the user interfacemodule 540 may operate to provide for user control of any or allstandard media system commands (e.g., channel control, volume control,on/off, screen settings, input selection, etc.). The user interfacemodule 540 may, for example, operate and/or respond to user commandsutilizing user interface features disposed on the media system 500(e.g., buttons, etc.) and may also utilize the communication module 530(and/or first 510 and second 520 communication interface modules) tocommunicate with other systems and/or components thereof, regardingstill image-related information, regarding user interaction that occursduring the formation of combined dataset(s), etc. (e.g., a media systemcontroller (e.g., a dedicated media system remote control, a universalremote control, a cellular telephone, personal computing device, gamingcontroller, etc.)). In various exemplary scenarios, the user interfacemodule(s) 540 may operate to utilize the optional display 570 tocommunicate with a user regarding user-selectable object informationand/or to present still image information to a user.

The user interface module 540 may also comprise one or more sensormodules that operate to interface with and/or control operation of anyof a variety of sensors that may be utilized during the performance ofthe combined data set(s). For example, the one or more sensor modulesmay be utilized to ascertain an on-screen pointing location, which mayfor example be utilized to input and/or received user-selectable objectinformation (e.g., to indicate and/or define user-selectable objects ina still image). For example and without limitation, the user interfacemodule 540 (or sensor module(s) thereof) may operate to receive signalsassociated with respective sensors (e.g., raw or processed signalsdirectly from the sensors, through intermediate devices, via thecommunication interface modules 510, 520, etc.). Also for example, inscenarios in which such sensors are active sensors (as opposed to purelypassive sensors), the user interface module 540 (or sensor module(s)thereof) may operate to control the transmission of signals (e.g., RFsignals, optical signals, acoustic signals, etc.) from such sensors.Additionally, the user interface module 540 may perform any of a varietyof still image output functions (e.g., presenting still imageinformation to a user, presenting user-selectable object information toa user, providing visual feedback to a user regarding an identifieduser-selected object in a presented still image, etc.).

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more processors 550.The processor 550 may, for example, comprise a general purposeprocessor, digital signal processor, application-specific processor,microcontroller, microprocessor, etc. For example, the processor 550 mayoperate in accordance with software (or firmware) instructions. Asmentioned previously, any or all functionality discussed herein may beperformed by a processor executing instructions. For example, thoughvarious modules are illustrated as separate blocks or modules in FIG. 5,such illustrative modules, or a portion thereof, may be implemented bythe processor 550.

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more memories 560. Asdiscussed above, various aspects may be performed by one or moreprocessors executing instructions. Such instructions may, for example,be stored in the one or more memories 560. Such memory 560 may, forexample, comprise characteristics of any of a variety of types ofmemory. For example and without limitation, such memory 560 may compriseone or more memory chips (e.g., ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory,one-time-programmable OTP memory, etc.), hard drive memory, CD memory,DVD memory, etc.

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more modules 552(e.g., still image information receiving module(s)) that operate toreceive still image information for a still image. Such one or moremodules 552 may, for example, operate to utilize the communicationmodule 530 (e.g., and at least one of the communication interfacemodules 510, 520) and/or the user interface module(s) 540 to receivesuch still image information. For example, such one or more modules 552may operate to perform step 210 of the exemplary method 200 discussedpreviously and/or step 310 of the exemplary method 300 discussedpreviously.

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more module(s) 554(e.g., user-selectable object information receiving module(s)) thatoperate to receive object information corresponding to one or moreuser-selectable objects in a still image. Such one or more modules 554may, for example, operate to utilize the communication module 530 (e.g.,and at least one of the communication interface modules 510, 520) and/orthe user interface module(s) 540 to receive such still imageuser-selectable object information. For example, such one or moremodules 554 may operate to perform step 220 of the exemplary method 200discussed previously and/or step 320 of the exemplary method 300discussed previously.

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more modules 556(e.g., still image and user-selectable object information combiningmodule(s)) that operate to combine received still image information(e.g., as received by the module(s) 552) and received user-selectableobject information (e.g., as received by the module(s) 554) into acombined data set. Such one or more modules 556 may, for example,operate to receive still image information from the module(s) 552,receive user-selectable object information from the module(s) 554,combine such received still image information and user-selectable objectinformation into a combined data set, and output such combined data set.Such one or more modules 556 may operate to perform step 230 of theexemplary method 200 discussed previously and/or step 330 of theexemplary method 300 discussed previously.

The exemplary media system 500 may comprise one or more modules 558(e.g., combined data set communication module(s)) that operate tocommunicate the combined data set to at least one recipient systemand/or device. For example, such module(s) 558 may operate to utilizethe communication module(s) 530 (and, for example, one or both of thefirst communication interface module(s) 510 and second communicationinterface module(s) 520)) to communicate the combined data set. Also forexample, such module(s) 558 may operate to communicate the combined dataset to one or more system devices that store the combined data set on aphysical medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium). Suchone or more modules 558 may operate to perform step 240 of the exemplarymethod 200 discussed previously and/or step 340 of the exemplary method300 discussed previously.

Though not illustrated, the exemplary media system 500 may, for example,comprise one or more modules that operate to perform any or all of theprocessing discussed previously with regard to the exemplary method 400,discussed previously. Such modules (e.g., as with the one or moremodules 552, 554, 556 and 558) may be performed by the processor(s) 550executing instructions stored in the memory 560. Such module(s) may, forexample comprise one or more image receiving module(s) that operate toperform the still image receiving functionality discussed previouslywith regard to step 410. Such module(s) may also, for example compriseone or more user-selectable objection information determining module(s)that operate to perform the information determining functionalitydiscussed previously with regard to step 420. Such module(s) mayadditionally, for example comprise one or more user-selectable objectdata set formation module(s) that operate to perform the data setformation functionality discussed previously with regard to step 430.Such module(s) may further, for example, comprise one or moreuser-selectable object data set communication module(s) that operate toperform the communication functionality discussed previously with regardto step 440.

Also, though not illustrated, the exemplary media system 500 may, forexample, comprise one or more modules that operate to perform any or allof the continued processing discussed previously with regard to step 295of the exemplary method 200, step 395 of the exemplary method 300, andstep 495 of the exemplary method 400 discussed previously. Such modules(e.g., as with the one or more modules 552, 554, 556 and 558) may beperformed by the processor(s) 550 executing instructions stored in thememory 560.

Turning next to FIG. 6, such figure is a diagram illustrating exemplarymodules and/or sub-modules for a media system 600, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present invention. The exemplary media system 600may share any or all aspects with the media system 500 illustrated inFIG. 5 and discussed previously. For example, the exemplary media system600 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with one or moreof the media system components illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussedpreviously. For example, the exemplary media system 600 may correspondto any of the media system components illustrated in FIG. 1 (or thelike) or any group of the media system components illustrated in FIG. 1(or the like). For example, the exemplary media system 600 (or variousmodules thereof) may operate to perform any or all functionalitydiscussed herein with regard to the exemplary method 200 illustrated inFIG. 2, the exemplary method 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, and theexemplary method 400 illustrated in FIG. 4.

For example, the media system 600 comprises a processor 630. Such aprocessor 630 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe processor 550 discussed with regard to FIG. 5. Also for example, themedia system 600 comprises a memory 640. Such memory 640 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the memory 560 discussedwith regard to FIG. 5.

Also for example, the media system 600 may comprise any of a variety ofuser interface module(s) 650. Such user interface module(s) 650 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the user interfacemodule(s) 540 discussed previously with regard to FIG. 5. For exampleand without limitation, the user interface module(s) 650 may comprise: adisplay device, a camera (for still or moving picture acquisition), aspeaker, an earphone (e.g., wired or wireless), a microphone, a videoscreen (e.g., a touch screen), a vibrating mechanism, a keypad, and/orany of a variety of other user interface devices (e.g., a mouse, atrackball, a touch pad, touch screen, light pen, game controllingdevice, etc.).

The exemplary media system 600 may also, for example, comprise any of avariety of communication modules (605, 606, and 610). Such communicationmodule(s) may, for example, share any or all characteristics with thecommunication interface module(s) 510, 520 discussed previously withregard to FIG. 5. For example and without limitation, the communicationinterface module(s) 610 may comprise: a Bluetooth interface module; anIEEE 802.11, 802.15, 802.16 and/or 802.20 module; any of a variety ofcellular telecommunication interface modules (e.g., GSM/GPRS/EDGE,CDMA/CDMA2000/1x-EV-DO, WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA, TDMA/PDC, WiMAX, etc.); anyof a variety of position-related communication interface modules (e.g.,GPS, A-GPS, etc.); any of a variety of wired/tethered communicationinterface modules (e.g., USB, Fire Wire, RS-232, HDMI, Ethernet,wireline and/or cable modem, etc.); any of a variety of communicationinterface modules related to communicating with external memory devices;etc. The exemplary media system 600 is also illustrated as comprisingvarious wired 606 and/or wireless 605 front-end modules that may, forexample, be included in the communication interface modules and/orutilized thereby.

The exemplary media system 600 may also comprise any of a variety ofsignal processing module(s) 690. Such signal processing module(s) 690may share any or all characteristics with modules of the exemplary mediasystem 500 that perform signal processing. Such signal processingmodule(s) 690 may, for example, be utilized to assist in processingvarious types of information discussed previously (e.g., with regard tosensor processing, position determination, video processing, imageprocessing, audio processing, general user interface information dataprocessing, etc.). For example and without limitation, the signalprocessing module(s) 690 may comprise: video/graphics processing modules(e.g. MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, JPEG, TIFF, 3-D, 2-D, MDDI, etc.);audio processing modules (e.g., MP3, AAC, MIDI, QCELP, AMR, CMX, etc.);and/or tactile processing modules (e.g., Keypad I/O, touch screenprocessing, motor control, etc.).

In summary, various aspects of the present invention provide a systemand method for providing information of selectable objects in a stillimage and/or data stream. While the invention has been described withreference to certain aspects and embodiments, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes may be made andequivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of theinvention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the inventionwithout departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that theinvention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, butthat the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

1. A method for communicating still image information, the methodcomprising: receiving picture information for a still image; receivinguser-selectable object information corresponding to a user-selectableobject in the still image; and combining the received pictureinformation and the received user-selectable object information into acombined data set.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising communicatingthe combined data set in at least one serial data stream over acommunication network to at least one recipient, the at least one serialdata stream comprising a serial data stream that comprises pictureinformation and user-selectable object information.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, comprising storing the combined data set on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium, the combined data set comprisinguser-selectable object information interleaved with picture information.4. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving picture information fora still image comprises receiving a completed picture data set for thestill image, the completed picture data set formatted for communicatingthe still image without information describing user-selectable objectsin the still image.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said combiningcomprises inserting the received user-selectable object information inthe received completed picture data set to create a combined data setcomprising the picture data set and the received object information. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein: said received completed picture dataset, is formatted in accordance with a still image standard; and saidcombining comprises inserting the received user-selectable objectinformation in data fields of the completed picture data set that arenot assigned by the still image standard.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein: said received completed picture data set is formatted inaccordance with a still image standard; and said combining comprisesinserting the received user-selectable object information in data fieldsof the completed picture data set that are assigned by the still imagestandard to contain information of user-selectable objects.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said receiving picture information for astill image comprises receiving picture information for the still imageprior to the picture information being formatted into a completedpicture data set for communicating the still image.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein said combining comprises combining the received pictureinformation and the received user-selectable object information into acompleted picture data set that is formatted for communicating the stillimage with information describing user-selectable objects in the stillimage.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein: said receiving pictureinformation for a still image comprises receiving an initial combinedstill image data set comprising initial picture information and initialuser-selectable object information corresponding to user-selectableobjects in the still image; and said combining comprises modifying theinitial user-selectable object information of the initial combined stillimage data set in accordance with the received user-selectable objectinformation.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said modifyingcomprises changing at least a portion of the initial object informationin accordance with the received user-selectable object information. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein the received user-selectable objectinformation corresponding to a user-selectable object in the still imagecomprises customized user-selectable object information that iscustomized to a particular set of one or more users.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the received user-selectable object informationcorresponding to a user-selectable object in the still image comprisesinformation describing location of the user-selectable object in thestill image.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the received user-objectinformation corresponding to a user-selectable object in the still imagecomprises information identifying at least one action to be performedupon user-selection of the user-selectable object.
 15. A media systemcomprising: at least one module operable to, at least: receive pictureinformation for a still image; receive user-selectable objectinformation corresponding to a user-selectable object in the stillimage; and combine the received picture information and the receiveduser-selectable object information into a combined data set.
 16. Themedia system of claim 15, wherein the at least one module is operable tocommunicate the combined data set in at least one serial data streamover a communication network to at least one recipient, the at least oneserial data stream comprising a serial data stream that comprisespicture information and user-selectable object information.
 17. Themedia system of claim 15, wherein the at least one module is operable tostore the combined data set on a non-transitory computer readablemedium, the combined data set comprising user-selectable objectinformation interleaved with picture information.
 18. The media systemof claim 15, wherein the at least one module is operable to receivepicture information for a still image by, at least in part, operating toreceive a completed picture data set for the still image, the completedpicture data set formatted for communicating the still image withoutinformation describing user-selectable objects in the still image. 19.The media system of claim 18, wherein the at least one module isoperable to combine the received picture information and the receiveduser-selectable object information into a combined data set by, at leastin part, operating to insert the received user-selectable objectinformation in the received completed picture data set to create acombined data set comprising the picture data set and the receivedobject information.
 20. The media system of claim 19, where: saidreceived completed picture data set, is formatted in accordance with astill image standard; and said at least one module is operable tocombine the received picture information and the receiveduser-selectable object information into a combined data set by, at leastin part, operating to insert the received user-selectable objectinformation in data fields of the completed picture data set that arenot assigned by the still image standard.
 21. The media system of claim19, where: said received completed picture data set is formatted inaccordance with a still image standard; and said at least one module isoperable to combine the received picture information and the receiveduser-selectable object information into a combined data set by, at leastin part, operating to insert the received user-selectable objectinformation in data fields of the completed picture data set that areassigned by the still image standard to contain information ofuser-selectable objects.
 22. The media system of claim 15, wherein saidat least one module is operable to receive picture information for astill image by, at least in part, operating to receive pictureinformation for the still image prior to the picture information beingformatted into a completed still image data set for communicating thestill image.
 23. The media system of claim 22, wherein said at least onemodule is operable to combine the received picture information and thereceived user-selectable object information into a combined data set by,at least in part, operating to combine the received picture informationand the received user-selectable object information into a completedpicture data set that is formatted for communicating the still imagewith information describing user-selectable objects in the still image.24. The media system of claim 15, wherein: the at least one module isoperable to receive picture information for a still image by, at leastin part, operating to receive an initial combined still image data setcomprising initial picture information and initial user-selectableobject information corresponding to user-selectable objects in the stillimage; and the at least one module is operable to combine the receivedpicture information and the received user-selectable object informationinto a combined data set by, at least in part, operating to modify theinitial user-selectable object information of the initial combined stillimage data set in accordance with the received user-selectable objectinformation.
 25. The media system of claim 24, wherein the at least onemodule is operable to modify the initial user-selectable objectinformation of the initial combined still image data set in accordancewith the received user-selectable object information by, at least inpart, operating to change at least a portion of the initial objectinformation in accordance with the received user-selectable objectinformation.
 26. The media system of claim 15, where the receiveduser-selectable object information corresponding to a user-selectableobject in the still image comprises customized user-selectable objectinformation that is customized to a particular set of one or more users.27. The media system of claim 15, where the received user-selectableobject information corresponding to a user-selectable object in thestill image comprises information describing location of theuser-selectable object in the still image.
 28. The media system of claim15, where the received user-selectable object information correspondingto a user-selectable object in the still image comprises informationidentifying at least one action to be performed upon user-selection ofthe user-selectable object.
 29. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium on which is stored computer-readable information comprising: adata file comprising: picture information for a still image; anduser-selectable object information corresponding to a user-selectableobject in the still image, which when processed by the processing systemenables the processing system to provide for user-selection of theuser-selectable object in the still image.
 30. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein said user-selectableobject information comprises processor instructions associated with theuser-selectable object in the still image.
 31. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein said user-selectableobject information comprises information describing an action to performupon user-selection of the user-selectable object in the still image.